By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Telstra is asking Geelong broadband customers to pay for internet connection before telling them whether it’s actually available, according to federal Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson.
Ms Henderson said many home buyers were discovering they had no guarantee of broadband even it it was previously available at the properties they bought.
“I’m concerned Telstra is requiring customers to sign up to long-term contracts to place an order for broadband where no ports to connect broadband customers to the local exchange are available.”
Ms Henderson said residents expressed frustration at inadequate or non-existent broadband during two community consultations.
“I’m also concerned about the door-to-door sales practices of telecommunications companies. A number of residents spoke out about sales people signing (them) up to broadband contracts after falsely promising broadband connection was available.
“This is misleading and deceptive and needs to stop.”
Marshall’s Laura Carlin, who attended one of the consultation meetings, said she had to “fight tooth and nail” with Telstra for six months for broadband.
Ms Carlin and partner Ryan Allison were told they needed a telephone line installed and to pay line rental for a non-existent service just to get on the waiting list.
“We were getting frustrated by all the different responses. We were told one thing and someone else would tell us something completely different.
“Some of our friends have been waiting longer than us and still don’t have any internet. People need to know what’s going on.”
Telstra Country Wide area general manager Duane Dalton said existing infrastructure in local exchanges was struggling to meet demand.
“There may be some individual reasons customers still do not get the internet speeds they expect from their service. These include a customer’s distance from the exchange, their own equipment and whether or not they’re served by the specific parts of the exchange that have received an upgrade.”
Mr Dalton said Telstra customers at Leopold, Belmont, Ocean Grove, Lorne and Queenscliff would experience faster internet speeds on their ADSL service following infrastructure upgrades.
“With the NBN at different stages, Telstra locally wants to make sure we continue to invest and look at areas that are impacted. We’ll continue to work with Sarah to make sure we’re aligned to deliver for our customers.”
